. >> romney campaign was left to slap itself in the forehead when governor chris christie apparently didn't get the expectations memo. >> wednesday night is the restart of the campaign, i think you will see the numbers start to move right back in the other direction. thursday morning, the entire narrative of the race will change. >> reporter: in truth, debates rarely move polls in a significant ways. one notable exception was in 2000. when -- >> that's what a governor gets to do. >> dismissive al gore threw away a five-point lead in the course of three debates. >> romney advisors are just hoping for a solid performance. no knock-outs on wednesday night. >> i don't think one event is going to make or break this campaign. >> romney advisors told me they don't expect that they could level knock-out blow against president obama. the skilled debaters such as he is. always playing the expectation game. bret? >> bret: john, thanks. >> we're just five weeks and one day away from election day. and a little more than 48 hours from the first debate here in colorado. there is more focus than eve